Monday, May 07, 2012

{DIY Urban Outfitters Wall Art}

For awhile now I've been drooling over some wall art from Urban Outfitters, but they don't have it available anymore, and it was way out of my budget. Soo...I decided to make my own!

Here are the easy steps and inexpensive items I used to create my knock-off Urban Outfitters art.

I started with a 24 x 30 inch canvas that was a freebie from my Mom {thanks Mom!} and 20 nature photos that I cut down into 6x6 square. I played around with the layout until I found one I liked...

Then I mod podged them onto the canvas...{took this photo at midnight so my apologies for the poor lighting.}

And ended up with this...

And for the final step I took a roll of this stuff..

Stained glass foiling tape.

It is basically copper tape and such an easy product to work with. Just peel the backing off and stick! And it can be molded around the edges of the canvas for a really great finished look. I outlined all of the edges of the photos with it and put it around the canvas edges. Here is the finished product...

I turned out exactly how I had imagined and is the perfect art piece for our entryway...

And I love that I spent about $5 total for supplies. Here are a few close-up shots...

It is the perfect finishing touch to the new look in our entryway. I love how the colors tie into the vignette on our entryway table...

And it is a happy greeting as we walk down the stairs...

So what do you think? Have you completed any DIY art projects recently? I'd love to see them!

*A kind blog reader pointed out to me that I should give credit for the photos I used, and she is very correct, especially with all of the views this project has received. However, when I did my google searches for photos, it didn't occur to me to save the original sources {lesson learned!}. It was never my intention to copy someone else's work, so if you recognize one of the photos I used as your own, please let me know and I will of course list your credit in this post.

111 comments:

I love this artwork! In fact, I'm definitely going to feature it this Friday. Your photos are beautiful; I like yours better than the original, and what a great tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing (found you on Pinterest.)

So cute! I love Urban Outfitters, except for the fact that they're so expensive! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome project :)

I would love it if you would link up at Watch Out, Martha!’s first link up party: Martha Mondays, going on now through Wednesday! Hope to see you there! http://www.watchoutmartha.net/2012/05/martha-monday-link-up-party.html

Hey Mandy! Visiting from Not Just a Housewife's linky party...I love this craft idea. The photos on the canvas looked great, but the stained glass foiling tape really finished the piece nicely. Thanks for sharing! :)

This is one of the prettiest diy's I have ever seen! It's truely gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing the instructions. I can't see what size the tape is, could you post up what size to use if you can? I'd love to have a go at making my own version :-)

OH my goodness, I love this! So creative and seriously, I like yours better than the original! Gorgeous, I might have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing! I am stopping by from Hookin up with the Hepworths link party

OMG I am in LOVE with this! Once I made an art project out of calendar squares like this on my old apartment's fireplace, then I antiqued it. It came out really cool. I think I just make one of these for my house!

As an avid photographer, I thank you....for giving me the inspiration to start creating my own collages. Also to me dear friend Kathleen for giving me this link...........Photos capture what we tend to forget....Maureen, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada.....xo

@April - I wanted it to look like the original, which looked like stained glass, and for some odd reason I remembered that you can buy the stained glass tape at Hobby Lobby. And it just happened to work perfectly! :)

@KellyH - I found the photos online just by doing google searches for nature images, and I printed them on a color copier, then cropped down to 6x6 squares.

Ah, I see. One more question - were these pictures printed on photo paper? Did you have any issues with ink smearing? Any issues with brushstrokes from mod podge showing? Okay, that was more than one question.

@Nat - Nope...not photo paper. Just regular matte paper that was a bit thicker than copier paper. I didn't have any trouble with the ink smearing, but in the past when I've used copier paper (thin stuff) I've had trouble with the image wearing off if I get the mod podge on too thick or rub it too hard with the brush. I used a foam brush for this project which helped keep the brush stroke marks at bay. I tried to brush it in every direction as well. Hope this helps! :)

At first, I wasn't interested in the tutorial because I incorrectly thought the one you made was no longer available from U.O. and the one from U.O. was the one you made. Obviously, I greatly prefer your version! You did a great job and this is one tutorial I will absolutely give a try! Thanks for sharing!

hi i love this idea and i just bought the supplies to do it but i am a rookie at arts and crafts stuff so i have a few questions... did you print the pictures out on just regular printer paper? and did you put the modge podge on the pictures, under, or both? and last how did you blow the pictures up big enough to cut into multiple pieces without turning them blurry?

Hi Mandy, Stopping by to let you know I featured you Urban Outfitters Wall Art on my blog today! Love it! I have a linky party starting tomorrow and would love it if you would link something up! Kim@madeindayhttp://madeinaday.com

What a great project! Hi, my name is Melissa and I'm the managing editor for FaveCrafts.com. I was wondering if you'd be interested in allowing us to publish this project on our site. I have a newsletter of "knock off projects" coming up and I'd love to feature it! You can contact me at mconner@primecp.com for more information. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you! Best, Melissa :)

I fell in love with that same piece at Urban Outfitters--but, like you, found it WAY out of my price range! I would love to make this project though. How much depth did your canvas have? It looked like it was really thin in the pictures.

I fell in love with that same piece at Urban Outfitters! But, like you, I found it WAY out of my price range. I would love to make it though. How thick was the canvas you used for this project? In the pictures it looked pretty thin...

I hope you don't mind - I have linked to this project on my blog as a project I'd like to attempt. I love your version - I think it's better than the original! My blog post is here: http://myroundtuitblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/diy-urban-outfitters-wall-art/

Christa - I used matte mod podge but any type would work...just depends on the finish you are going for. I also used matte cardstock, but I've heard of others use photo paper and that also works. Lots of options for this project. :)

Hey Mandy, just came upon your blog through a google search. I love this project and am inspired to do one myself. It looks amazing. I just wanted to let you know to link your project over at East Coast Creative where they are showcasing "knock off" projects that have been done within the year. Here is the link

You have done great work, the urban outfitter wall art print's image you have added here, it looking very nice, we can see your creativity by this post, that you have great creativity. Thanks for sharing the easy and great Tutorial.

Thank you for the idea. I hadn't seen the Urban Outfitters art, but your tutorial made me think this project would be perfect with the photos I took on vacation last summer. The desert theme went beautifully with the copper tape, and now I'm inspired to do my house in these colors! You can see a photo of my finished canvas here: http://elaineziman.blogspot.com/2014/01/desert-artwork.html